Project Olympus
by aejacob
Summary: Percy didn't expect a silly fight to result into a run for his life. But it turns out that Percy is a part of Project Olympus - an science experiment to change the genes of kids to give them special powers. Percy is the only guy who can control water - and he isn't even supposed to exist. Now he and his friends have to stop his grandpa from destroying the world (DON'T JUDGE).
1. Prolouge

***DISCLAIMER DISCLAIMER*PJO belongs to Rick Riordan (otherwise I would not be on this site)**

 ***I rated this story 'T' because I DO NOT WANT TO GET SUED**

 ***This is the 2nd story I ever wrote so don't judge me**

* * *

The man was on the run.

You couldn't tell he was on the run, of course. The man was in his mid-40's, and he looked like he was dressed for work, in his tie and polished shoes, with diamond-patterned socks. He wore wire-framed glasses that were always slipping down the bridge of his nose. He carried a briefcase, and he was constantly checking his watch. The man entered a bakery, and ordered a coffee and a donut. There was a girl wiping down the tables, observing the nervous-looking man from where she was cleaning. He looked a bit strange. _Oh well,_ she thought. He wasn't anything special, she decided. This man was just another customer, picking up his breakfast and running late for work. He obviously wasn't of interest. Neither was she, of course. She was just another high-school girl working a weekend job. The girl, sensing that the rag was drying up, went to the back of the bakery to re-soak it. She went to one of the back sinks, where there were no employees, and stuck her towel under the running water. After she deemed that the rag was wet enough, she turned off the tap. The girl was wringing out the cloth when she heard the gunshot. It rang out in the bakery, the noise slightly muffled by the sound of shattering glass. Her eyes widened. She threw the towel into the sink and hurried to grab her backpack. She needed to call the police, and _now._ Her fingers fumbled for the zipper of her bag, trying to get her phone out . She heard footsteps, and more screams. A few more gunshots rang out. The girl's eyes widened even more. She needed to find a place to hide first, she realized. She threw the straps of her backpack over her shoulders and ran further back into the bakery. Suddenly, the floor creaked under her foot. She looked down for a moment. It was the loose floorboards. _The loose floorboards,_ she realized, a hasty idea forming in her head. She pried them up, and looked down. There was a tiny space, barely big enough for her. The girl slid her backpack off her shoulders and hugged it tight as she squeezed herself into the tiny hiding hole. She then pulled the floorboards back down. Dust softly fell around her. She pinched her nose with one hand, willing herself not to sneeze. She heard rapid footsteps-coming closer. She closed her eyes tightly, tears silently falling down her face. _I love you, Mom, Dad, Sammy,_ she thought. She heard shouting voices.

"Did you really believe you could get away with such valuable information?" said a rough voice. The girl can imagine a sneer upon whoever's face it is.

"I could hope." The girl's head jerked upward when she heard that voice. It's the man who was constantly looking at his watch, with the diamond-patterned socks, and the polished shoes and the work briefcase. Was _he_ the whole reason for the gunshots? The girl's hands curled up into fists. She bit her lip, drawing blood.

"I'll make you a deal," the rough-voiced man said. "You help me, and I'll let you live."

"A life where I help you isn't any kind of life I would want to live in," said the man with the briefcase and spectacles that always slide down his nose. And although the man's voice wobbles, the girl heard the quiet fierceness and courage in his tone. "Project Olympus was supposed to bring good into the world, not used to help create your superhuman army!" The man raised his voice, and with of jolt, the girl realized that he _knew_ she was down there hiding. That this man wanted her to escape, to tell someone this. She gulped.

"I refuse to help you, and your plan to take over-" The man was cut short as a gunshot sounded through the building. The girl heard a body thump against the floorboards she was hiding under. Blood dripped slowly through the cracks. She watched, horrified, as a droplet of blood landed on her hand. She bit back a shriek, and held her breath.

"What a waste of a life," she heard the man say. He then picked up something from the floor, dangerously close to the girl's hiding spot. She dared not breathe for a moment. The man walked away, whistling as he went. The girl listened closely. No other sound was heard in the bakery - no sounds of whimpering humans in fear, no sound of the rustle of bodies, no sound of _breathing,_ except for her own shallow pants and the killer's pauses between his humming. The realization hit her hard: _She was the only person left alive._ She listened as the footsteps faded, and as the sound of sirens came closer. She slowly eased the floorboards up. She pushed gently, then harder and harder until the floorboards came up. The man's body slid off the floorboards. She shuddered, and turned away. She noticed that his briefcase was not there. That must have been what the murderer had been here for. She shook the thought from her head and slowly walked over to the police officers, clutching her backpack tightly to her chest. They caught sight of her, and they leveled their guns at her. Her knees knocked together, the memory of gunshots clouding her brain again. The policemen realize it's just her, a measly high-school girl who hid in a hole in the floor while people were murdered in cold blood.

"What are you doing here, sweetheart?" asked one of the policemen kindly. Other police officers crowd around her.

"I work here," She whispered, her hands trembling. She dropped her backpack, and she bent to pick it up. The policeman stares at her palm, stained with the drop of the man's blood.

"Why is there blood on your hand?" He asked, pointing the butt of his gun to the palm of her hand.

"The man's blood-it leaked through the floor, and..." Her voice cracked. she then straightened her spine. She would not be cowed by this. She gathered up her backpack and swung it onto her shoulders. The girl then walked toward her hiding spot, the policemen trialing her.

"There," she said, pointing her finger toward the removed floorboards. "That's where I was hiding. And the murderer was right there-" The girl swung her finger pointing a few feet away from her hidey-hole, "and he wanted something from-" Her voice cracked. "-from him." She finally pointed toward the dead man lying on the floor, motionless. His glasses were perched awkwardly on the bridge of his nose. A small red stain was on his neatly tucked-in shirt, right above where his heart was. The girl swallowed. "The man- the dead one- was saying something about Project Olympus. I think-" The girl lifted her head to met the policemen's stares, "that this man had information on Project Olympus... very important information. And the killer wants to use Project Olympus to make his own army." The policemen stared at her, unbelieving. But the girl held her chin high.

"I've never heard of any Project Olympus-" One of the policemen started, but right then, the girl's father and little brother ran into the store. "Carrie!" Her dad shouted. "CARRIE!"

"Daddy!" She screamed, and ran straight to him. He scooped her into a hug. And although the warmth of him was comforting, the words of the rough-voiced man chilled her blood.

* * *

A man with a Hawaiian patterned shirt and khaki shorts and sea-green eyes smiled sadly at a lady with black raven hair and soft brown eyes. She was cradling a newborn boy, with sea-green eyes and a few wisps of raven-black hair.

"Please don't leave," The lady begs the man for the millionth time.

"I have to," says the man for the millionth time. "It's not safe for you or the baby if I'm around. You saw what my father did to that man in the bakery. You know his intentions. Imagine what he will do to our son if he finds out that I am his father."

"And what shall I tell our little boy when we wonders where his father went?" says the lady.

"Tell him that his father is lost at sea." The man replies. He presses a kiss to the forehead of the lady, and then a kiss to the forehead of the little baby boy.

"I love you, Perseus Achilles Jackson."

* * *

 **So... did you like it? (probably not)**

 **Sorry for the horrible writing... *sheepish smile***

 **Please review... I appreciate constructive criticism**

 **THANKS for READING**

 **Till next time... BYE!**


	2. Chapter 1

***Disclaimer: Rick Riordan owns PJO, not me (obviously)**

 ***Rated 'T' cuz Life (Don't question me)**

 ***Disclaimer #2: I realized that there is another story called Project Olympus that kind of sounds like this story. I just want to say that I do not mean to "copy" any part of that story, and if I do, I'M SOORY**

* * *

Percy Jackson was officially having the WORST school day EVER.

Not many people would think that a field trip to some college, where you were required to do nothing except pretend to listen, would be horrible. But for Percy, it was absolutely terrible.

Why, you ask? Because of Nancy Bobofit (AKA the spawn of the devil).

Usually, Percy would only have to endure one or two classes with Nancy. But today, he had to be with Nancy the ENTIRE trip. Which was terrible. Then again, his life had never seemed to go the way he wanted it to. He never wanted to be father-less. He never wanted stupid dyslexia, or ADHD, or to get expelled out of 4 different schools. He never wanted to end up at Yancy Boarding School, which was made specifically for "troubled" kids like him. And he ESPECIALLY did not want to be in the same school bus as Nancy Bobofit. He could at least be grateful that Grover, his best friend, was here with him, sitting next to him. With pieces of peanut-butter and ketchup in his hair.

Wait. Why were there pieces of peanut butter and ketchup in his hair? Percy's mind had drifted off, as it usually did, because of ADHD. But now he was back in reality, and he could CLEARLY see Nancy throwing bits of her sandwich into Grover's hair (though why the teachers couldn't see that too, he didn't know). Percy's fisted his hands and glared at Nancy. She just smirked back and threw another piece of her sandwich at Grover.

"That's it." Percy mumbled to Grover. "I an going to-"

"-do nothing." Grover finished for him. "Percy, remember what the principal told you? You'll get in-school suspension if anything bad happens on this trip. Besides, I like peanut butter!" He dodged another bit of sandwich. "And I thought you wanted to actually not get into trouble this field trip."

That much was true. Percy had never done well on field trips. Once, he had accidently shot a cannon at the school bus (He wasn't AIMING for the school bus, but he got expelled anyways). Another time, Percy was at Marine World and had hit the wrong lever - and his class took an unexpected swim (His teacher said he wasn't supposed to be playing with the levers in the first place-but who put a bunch of buttons and levers in front of a kid with ADHD?). Percy sighed, defeated, as Nancy chucked more ketchup at his best friend.

"In conclusion," Mr. Brunner, the science teacher ( **In this story, Mr. Brunner, AKA Chiron, isn't in a wheel chair because he's not a centaur)** , said. "It might be possible to alter the genes of people someday. Any questions?"

"I have a question," Nancy mumbled to her friend. "Why is changing our genes so important? I mean, I know I wouldn't want to put the future of my life in some crazy scientist's hands." Percy glared at Nancy. They had been talking the whole entire trip, and it was really getting on his nerves. Her friend sniggered. "Yeah, well," Nancy's friend murmured back. "Some people would do anything to appear at least _close_ to normal." She shot some poor kids a glance and a smirk. Percy's fists tightened. He couldn't take their blabbing anymore.

"Will you guys _shut up?"_ He finally exploded.

"Mr. Jackson," Mr. Brunner said firmly. "No yelling. Remember, this is a college, and there are students here who are also working." Nancy sneered in Percy's direction, but not for long.

"And Ms. Bobofit and Ms. Reed," Mr. Brunner said, addressing Nancy and her sniggering friend. "Refrain from making fun of the other students." Nancy's face went as red as her hair - which is to say, really red. Percy felt a small bit of satisfaction. At least Mr. Brunner didn't ignore all the bad things Nancy did. In fact, Percy was pretty sure Mr. Brunner was the ONLY teacher who called Nancy out for the things she did.

"And to answer your question-" Mr. Brunner continued. "Gene alteration IS very important, but not because it can be used to make people fit the standards of being average. In fact, gene alteration can be used to give humans extraordinary powers and advantages, like bigger brain capacity, better memory, more attentiveness, etc."

 _So basically all the things I don't have,_ Percy thought glumly.

"Well," Mr. Brunner's voice rang through Percy's thoughts. "It appears it is time for lunch."

Percy and Grover sat by the fountain. Percy looked out at the NY traffic, wishing he could see his mom again. He sighed.

Percy was unwrapping his sandwich when Nancy and her friends came over.

 _What does she want now?_ Percy wondered, looking at the group of jeering girls. Nancy dropped her half-eaten lunch into Grover's lap.

"Oops!" Nancy said, half-laughing at Grover. Percy dug his fingers into his palms. He tried to remember the tips the school councilor gave him on staying calm, but nothing made him angrier than seeing his best friend (and only friend) get bullied. His mind went blank with fury. The next thing Percy knew, Nancy was in the fountain.

 _How did she end up in there?_ Percy thought, confused.

"PERCY PUSHED ME INTO THE FOUNTAIN!" Nancy wailed. _No I didn't!_ was what Percy wanted to retort back, but then again, how else did Nancy end up in the fountain? Percy silently cursed his ADHD. He must have pushed Nancy into the fountain without knowing. Mrs. Dodds, the pre-algebra teacher and other chaperone for the trip, appeared right next to Percy. She gripped his arm so tight that Percy was afraid his blood circulation would stop.

"Now, Nancy," Mrs. Dodds reassured her. "I'll get you a new shirt from the gift shop, okay?" Nancy nodded solemnly, playing the part of the victim. Then Mrs. Dodds turned to Percy. "Now come with me, honey," Mrs. Dodds said, giving him a wicked kind of smile. Then she looked at Grover. "And get your lunch out of your lap."

Percy was dragged into the college. He sighed. Why did he expect this field trip to go well? Mrs. Dodds let go of him when they reached the inside of the college.

"Now, Mr. Jackson," Mrs. Dodds said. "You have something that my master wants. Give it, and I'll let you live."

"Huh?" Percy said, not understanding. _Is she hallucinating?_ He wondered. Mrs. Dodds looked pretty old; Didn't the elderly have memory problems or something?

"The serum," Mrs. Dodds hissed. "We know you stole the serum!"

"What-what serum?" asked Percy, completely puzzled. He didn't even know that it was possible for Mrs. Dodds to be more creepy than she was before, but now here she was, creepier than ever.

"I guess I'll have to by force," Mrs. Dodds said. She reached into her purse.

 _What is she doing?_ Percy thought. Mrs. Dodds then pulled out a gun, and leveled it at Percy's head.

"WHAT THE HECK ARE YOU DOING?!" Percy yelped. "SOMEONE HELP ME!"

Right then, Mr. Brunner walked in.

"Percy!" He called. "Catch!"

Percy wasn't sure what Mr. Brunner was throwing him, but he did know one thing: He was being threatened by a crazy lady WITH A FREAKING GUN, and he had no other means of escape. Percy scrambled to catch the object. He looked at it. It was a gun, but not the normal kind. It had a sleek white finish, and as far as he could tell, there were no bullets inside of it. Mrs. Dodds shot at him, and Percy ducked. He pointed the gun at Mrs. Dodds.

 _Come on, Percy._ He willed himself to pull the trigger. But instead of a bullet flying out, it was - blue light? A stream of light, kind of like a laser beam, hit Mrs. Dodds' legs

"I'm stunned!" She yelled. She scrambled for her necklace, with a giant red circular pendant in the middle.

"I'll get you, Jackson," She growled, and pressed her pendant. A giant whirring noise started. Someone pressed a pair of VERY dark sunglasses into my hands.

"Wear these now and look away!" The person said. Percy put them on, his fingers shaking. The room was getting brighter. He turned his head away from the light.

Suddenly, the light disappeared. Percy looked around. Mrs. Dodds and Mr. Brunner were no where to be seen. Only the crazy lady's gun was left. Percy dropped the gun Mr. Brunner had thrown to him quickly. He scrambled to get outside. He was breathing hard.

"Ah, there you are, Percy!" Mr. Brunner said, eating his lunch like nothing happened. "I was beginning to wonder where you were." Mr. Brunner then frowned slightly. "Mr. Jackson, where did you get those sunglasses?"

"You gave them to me, when you know, MRS. DODDS TRIED TO KILL ME!" Percy shouted. Everyone looked at Percy weirdly.

"Mr. Jackson, are you feeling okay?" Mr. Brunner inquired. "Or are you up to your usual antics?"

"I'm being serious!" Percy said, this time quietly. "Where is that gun-wielding witch anyways?"

"Mrs. Dodds is back at the academy, Mr. Jackson," Mr. Brunner's brow furrowed. "Percy, do you need to see the nurse?"

"No-no." Percy stammered. He made his way back to Grover.

"Hey, G-man," Percy whispered furiously, "Mrs. Dodds came with us on this trip, right?" Grover hesitated for a moment.

"No, she didn't," He finally said. Percy narrowed his eyes at Grover. _He's lying for sure,_ Percy thought. _But why?_

Percy sighed. He was sure Mrs. Dodds had came with them, but everyone was lying to him. _I'm gonna find out the truth,_ Percy promised himself. Suddenly, his stomach rumbled.

"Well," He mumbled to himself. "I guess fighting crazy old witch-ladies can make you hungry." And with that, he took a bite out of his sandwich.

* * *

 **Well... did you guys like it?**

 **I should mention that I labeled the Prologue 'Chapter 1' by accident. I also updated the Prologue because there were some spelling mistakes**

 **AND THANK YOU for everyone who followed, reviewed, and favorited this story! It means a lot to me *wipes away single tear***

 **Sorry it took me kind of long to write the chapter...**

 **I tried to make my paragraphs less bulky like some of you guys mentioned (thanks for the constructive criticism)**

 **Till next time... peace out!**


	3. Chapter 2

***Disclaimer* I do not own PJO, all rights go to Rick Riordan**

 ***Rated "T" because I said so**

* * *

As soon as Percy made it back to Yancy Academy, he stumbled into his dorm and fell onto his bed. He felt too tired to even take a shower.

"C'mon, Percy!" Grover said. "Go wash yourself. You stink!"

Percy grumbled. He didn't want to take shower. He wanted to know why everyone was lying to him.

 _I'm gonna get to the bottom of this,_ He thought.

"Per-cy!" Grover whined. "You smell! Just please, take a shower! It's not that hard to do!"

"I'll take a shower _once_ you tell me the truth!" Percy said in his pillow.

"What truth?" Grover asked. Percy looked up. Grover's eye was twitching. He knew exactly what truth Percy wanted him to tell.

"Once you tell me who Mrs. Dodds really is, and where she went!" Percy yelled, exasperated.

"Percy," Grover said slowly, biting his lip. "Mrs. Dodds did not come with us on the trip. Ask anyone!"

"Fine!" Percy said, snatching up a towel. "I will."

~xXx~

Percy had stormed out of the room and had slammed the door, and now he was feeling bad for it. He could only imagine what Grover was feeling right now.

 _Stop thinking that way,_ He thought to himself. _Stop being so negative. You need to find out who Mr. Dodds really is, and feeling sorry won't help._

But it was hard to find out anything about Mrs. Dodds when you were in line to use the showers. Percy shuddered. The boys' shower stalls could sometimes DISGUSTING. He spotted Brendan, a guy who had come on the trip with him.

"Hey Brendan," Percy said. "Was Mrs. Dodds on the trip with us?"

"No." Brendan said, giving Percy a weird look. "Why did you ask such a dumb question?" Percy sighed. He was sure Mrs. Dodds had come on the trip with him, but no one seemed to remember except him. Oh, Percy vividly remembered Mrs. Dodds, with her gun and threats and hissing voice that made her sound like a snake. He remembered her words: _Give it, and I'll let you live._ Percy involuntarily shivered at the thought of that sentence. He could recall the moment when Mrs. Dodds had pointed her gun at Percy, that moment he had felt completely helpless.

"Dude," said Brendan, shaking Percy out of his thoughts. "Are you going to use the shower or not?"

~xXx~

The next day, Percy was dragging his feet, looking horrified as he slowly approached Mrs. Dodds classroom.

 _C'mon, Percy,_ He thought. _She can't kill you in front of the rest of your classmates, right?_ Percy squared his shoulders, as he entered the classroom... and saw a preppy 20-something year old lady, with (obviously dyed) platinum blonde hair and a coffee cup in one hand.

"Hi guys!" the lady said, waving her free hand at the group of confused students. Her many bracelets jingled as she moved her arm."I'm Ms. Kerr, your new math teacher. You might recognize me as one of the former substitute teachers around the school. Unfortunately, Mrs. Dodds will not be returning to Yancy Academy. She had to leave on short notice. Something important, I assume. So, I will taking over!"

 _What?_ Percy thought, incredulous. He looked around the classroom. Some students were already coming up with conspiracy theories about Mrs. Dodds' sudden leave.

"Maybe she left to join a secret group of witches!"

"Maybe she went to take over the world, and teaching at Yancy Academy was just part of her master plan."

"Maybe she's practicing dark magic!"

"Maybe she's actually Voldemort!"

"Maybe she's torturing kids by forcing them to do math!"

"Maybe-"

"Now, c'mon guys," said Ms. Kerr. "I'm sure there is a perfectly good reason for Mrs. Dodds leaving. Now, get out your math books and turn to page 44."

~xXx~

It was the last day of school - and Percy's last day at Yancy Academy. Percy had been paranoid the whole year, wondering when Mrs. Dodds would come back for him. His grades had slipped, his attention span somehow got even shorter, and he was too occupied with the thought of Mrs. Dodds coming after him to worry about solving for _x_ or reading Chapter 13 in his history textbook about Mesopotamia. He was barely passing his classes. Then, he was finally pushed past his breaking point, when his English teacher had asked him why he never studied for his vocabulary tests. Percy had replied, calling him, "an old sot". Of course, at the time Percy did not know what that meant... and if he did, he would have never said it. But it was too late. The headmaster had sent a notice home (if you considered that junk of an apartment to be a home) that Percy would not be invited to Yancy Academy next year. His mom would have to find yet another school for him to go to, one that would not mind having a 12-year old delinquent as one of their students. Percy sighed inwardly

 _Of course this had to happen,_ Percy thought to himself. _What made you think you could actually survive a whole school year?_ He slumped in his seat. His life was just a string of horrible decisions and bad luck. Percy stared at his final exam for science, a jumble of element symbols and atomic numbers swimming before his eyes. Percy tapped his pencil on his desk. Somehow he had forgotten how to balance chemical equations, even though he had studied the night before. Actually, science was the only subject he had studied. For some reason, Percy felt the need to impress Mr. Brunner. Maybe it was the fact that Mr. Brunner treated Percy as his star student, or maybe it was because Mr. Brunner never ignored Nancy's bad behavior. Or it could possibly just be that Mr. Brunner was way better than all the other teachers. Whatever it was, it made Percy feel like he had to do well FOR Mr. Brunner. He bit his lip.

"Time's up!" Mr. Brunner said. "Hand in your tests, and make sure your name is on top before giving it to me!" Percy looked sadly at his paper. He still had a couple problems left, and it was most likely that half of the problems Percy had answered were wrong. Percy quickly scrawled his name on top, and gave it to Mr. Brunner.

"Percy," Mr. Brunner said carefully. "I heard you are not coming back next year."

"Yeah," said Percy. _Where was this conversation going?_

"Well, maybe it's for the best." Mr. Brunner's voice was soft.

"What do you mean, 'it's for the best'?" Percy asked, looking up at Mr. Brunner and his scruffy beard.

"Well, you never really seemed to belong here. Maybe you'll find somewhere that fits you better.. oh, Percy I didn't mean it like that." Mr. Brunner said, looking at Percy's expression.

"No," Percy said, "I know exactly what you mean." Percy felt tears prick at his eyes. The one teacher who Percy thought believed in him was now telling him that it was good that he got expelled, that Percy was just a mess-up that didn't belong anywhere. Gabe's voice echoed in his head. _You're just a stupid kid. You can't do anything._ Percy blinked, willing himself not to show his sadness.

 _I will not cry,_ He thought to himself. Percy walked over to his desk to grab his stuff. He stuffed his pencils into his backpack and was out of the classroom in a second. He could hear Mr. Brunner's voice trailing after him. Percy broke into a sprint, running for the nearest bathroom. He panted as he stepped inside, biting his lip.

"Don't cry, Percy. Don't cry." He murmured to himself. He had learned long ago what happened if you cried. Gabe had taught him that lesson. Percy had learned to hide the tears long, long ago, but this was too much. Percy listened closely. He heard no noise except the own sound of his footsteps. He flung open the stall door, and sat down on the toilet. He felt a dam break inside of him, his cooped-up feelings bursting out. And finally, he let the tears run down his cheeks.

* * *

 **So... that ended on a dark note.**

 **Happy (belated) New Year!**

 **S** **orry about now updating sooner... my laptop got taken away :(**

 **Also, sorry if this sounds like another filler chapter - trust me, this will be important later**

 **Here's a fun fact: I LIVE FOR REVIEWS (So please review and tell me how to make this story better)**

 **Congrats if you're still reading this! I applaud you on your determination and perseverance.**

 **Till next time... PEACE OUT!**


	4. Chapter 3

****DISCLAIMER** All rights to Rick Riordan - I only own the the plot (I'm pretty sure you guys know this by now)**

 ***Rated 'T' because I'm too young to go get sued for not putting the right rating**

* * *

It was the end of the day - and the end of the school year .

Percy shouldered his backpack, scrubbing away any lingering tears before picking up his suitcases. Percy walked out of his dorm, chin high. He would not let anyone make him feel bad. Besides, it was actually an ACCOMPLISHMENT that Percy had managed to last an entire school year. That had never happened before. He took out a wad of dollar bills from his pocket, that his mother had sent him the week before. It was for his journey "home". Percy looked around, searching for Grover. He wanted to say good-bye to his friend before going back to his tiny little apartment. Just as Percy was about to give up, Grover came, running in the funny way he always ran.

"Percy!' Grover cried. "There you are! I was afraid you had left already!"

"Actually, I was looking for YOU! Where were you?" Percy asked. Grover's eye twitched.

"Just packing," Grover lied. Percy sighed. He knew Grover was lying, but he wasn't quite sure why.

 _Oh well,_ Percy thought. _What can you do?_

"So, uh, Percy," Grover said, shifting from one foot to the other. "Do you want to ride the bus together?"

"Depends. Where do you live?" Percy asked.

"Well, um, where do you live?" Grover asked back, wringing his hands nervously. Percy cocked an eyebrow. What was going on here?

"Downtown Manhattan, Westfall Apartment Complexes," he replied, giving Grover the side eye.

"Great! That's exactly where I live!" Grover said a bit too soon, a bit too fast. His eye was starting to twitch again. Percy highly doubted that Grover lived near the area, but maybe Grover was just feeling sentimental and wanted to be with Percy a bit longer.

 _Or maybe he's watching out for any other crazy old bats like Mrs. Dodds,_ a voice inside his head whispered. Percy silently chased the voice away.

"Okay," Percy said. "Let's go."

"Oh, um.." Grover blushed. "I don't exactly have, my, uh, stuff with me..." His voice trailed off as he looked at his empty hands. "I'll just be a minute. You don't mind, uh, you know, waiting?"

"No, it's cool G-Man," Percy assured Grover.

"Thanks, Percy!" Grover said, and hurried back through the thickening crowd of students and faculty. Percy stared at where Grover had been standing before. He shifted from one foot to the other. He knew he should wait for Grover, but maybe it was his ADHD, maybe it was that bad feeling coiling in his stomach, or maybe it was just the fact that he didn't want to be stuck in the crowd, Percy turned and walked away, suitcases in hand.

~xXx~

Percy had made it home. Yippee (note the sarcasm).

He stared at the door. Did he want to go in? Percy could smell the tobacco and alcohol wafting from the apartment.

 _You know, maybe a nice walk around the city might clear my mind,_ Percy thought to himself. He bit his lip.

 _C'mon, Percy, you're gonna have to go inside at one point or another,_ Percy thought to himself. He steeled himself, and reached for the knob, and slowly - _very slowly_ \- turned it. The door creaked open. He heard guffaws and slurred words, and smelled the beer, the cigarettes and the bean dip. Percy willed himself to look inside - and saw a bunch of drunk men, playing poker with his equally drunk stepfather.

"Look, the little punk's back!" Gabe laughed crazily, raising his beer in the air. Percy cursed himself silently. He should've waited till they were all passed out on the couch or something. He shouldn't have come in while they were drunk but awake. Percy stared at Gabe's jowly chin, unable to meet his eyes.

"So, where's the money?" Gabe asked. That was it. No "Hello, Percy. How's your life been these past 6 months?".

"Sorry," Percy lied, looking at Gabe. "I don't have any on me." Gabe snorted, and took another swig of his beer, the brown alcohol sloshing down the sides of the bottle.

"You took a bus, and then probably a taxi. You must have at least 10, 20 dollars extra left." Percy stared at Gabe, wowed. It never ceased to amaze him how Gabe was somehow able to sniff out money anywhere, even when his stench of beer and cigarettes should have covered the scent of everything else.

"C'mon," One of Gabe's friends, Eddie, said. He was the only sober and non-smoking guy in the apartment - excluding Percy, of course. "Cut him some slack. He's only, what, 12 years old?" Percy shot Eddie an appreciative look. Although he knew that Eddie's opinion would mean nothing to Gabe, he was still grateful for the effort.

And true to Percy's prediction, Gabe remained undeterred. "A man's gotta hold his own, am I right?" When no one answered, Gabe repeated himself. "Am I RIGHT?" Percy glared at Gabe.

"You know what?" Percy said, digging a wad of dollar bills from his pocket. "Here you go. I hope you lose." Gabe squinted at him. "I'd hold your tongue, Brain-Boy. Your report card came!" Percy could detect the unspoken words from Gabe: _And someone's gonna end up with some real nasty bruises, too._ Percy involuntarily flinched. The other 2 drunk guys in the room guffawed. One fell out of his chair and dropped his beer on the carpet. Percy sighed, and walked to his room.

It was scattered with beer bottles and half-open packets of cigarettes. A pair of muddy boots sat on the windowsill. Percy dropped his suitcases on the bed. Home sweet home. Percy plopped down on the bed, and drifted away into his wishful thinking. Oh, what he would give to have Smelly Gabe gone, for him and his mother to live a decent place, for his mom to have her high-school diploma and for her to be able to follow her dream and become a writer, instead of working in the candy shop. What Percy would give to be actually be smart, to not have dyslexia or ADHD, for his mom to be able to say, "Oh, my Percy got an A!" or "My Percy is the perfect, well-behaved boy that any parent would want". Of course, he wished that his father wasn't dead (or as his mom put it, "Lost at sea"). But most of all, he wished his mom was here, right now, next to him, comforting Percy like she always did.

There was a tentative knock on the door. Percy jolted out of his thoughts. Gabe and his friends would probably never come in here, and even if, they wouldn't even bother to knock; they would probably just barge in, tripping over themselves in their drunk stupor. So that could only mean one thing...

"Mom!" Percy exclaimed as his a woman with beautiful black hair and kind brown eyes peeked around the edge of the door

"Can I come in?" she asked.

"Of course!' Percy replied happily, shoving his luggage aside. His mom burst in, and gave Percy a tight hug.

"Mom, you're smothering me!"Percy complained, but secretly, he enjoyed it.

"Oh, sorry honey," his mom said, taking a seat next to him on the bed. "It's just - I haven't seen you since Spring break, and oh my - you've grown taller, I think!" Percy rolled his eyes. He doubted that he'd even grown that much, but of course that didn't matter to his mom.

As they talked, Percy felt the unknown tension in his body go away, and the rest of the world faded. It was just him and his mom, talking about life. He almost swore he felt a salty-sea breeze dance into the room, even if no windows were open.

"So, honey," Percy's mom said, eyes twinkling. "I thought since it's YOUR summer vacation after all, and you made it through a whole school year this time, we'd celebrate!" Percy grinned. Leave it to his mom to be happy about her son getting expelled out of school for the SIXTH time.

"So... we're going to Montauk!"

~xXx~

Percy and his mom bumped along the road. Gabe hadn't been happy about them leaving, but after Percy's mom promised him some bean dip and assured him that the money for this trip was coming out of her clothes budget, he was okay. Percy wished he could hit Gabe over the head with one of his beer bottles. Why did they need him anyways? Percy sighed.

"What's wrong, honey?" His mom asked, giving him a worried look.

"Nothing, it's just... why do we need Gabe?"

"Because," his mom said, "We need the money. I can't support you and your needs with just the money I make."

"But Gabe spends all of the money he makes on beer and cigarettes!" Percy complained. His mother's eyes softened.

"I know it seems that way, honey," She said, ruffling his hair. "But trust me, it'll be good for you in the long run." Percy stared at his mom.

"But what about YOU?" He asked. "You're... you're suffering, Mom. He's abusing you. You-"

"Percy, I'm fine," His mom assured him. "Oh, look, we're here!"

Percy turned his head to look out the window. He saw the sea washing up against the shoreline. He spotted seashells, and smiled to himself. Maybe, just for a moment, he could pretend he was a normal kid, with a normal family. Just maybe...

~xXx~

Percy and his mom were sitting on the deserted beach, wrapped in blankets, talking and eating. Percy's mom had brought a bunch of "free samples" from her work for Percy, and all the candy was blue. It was an inside joke between Percy and his mom, when Gabe had protested that food could not be blue. Since then, Percy's mom had gone out of her way to make and eat blue food: blue corn chips, blue cookies, blueberries smoothies, blue saltwater taffy and blue lollipops. Percy shoveled a handful of blue jellybeans into his mouth.

"Mom, can you tell me more about Dad?" Percy asked through his mouthful. His mom smiled endearingly at Percy.

"Oh Percy... your father, well, he was once a marine biologist, but then started working as a geneticist. Percy, he was so incredibly smart, but even more than that, he was brave and courageous. And he loved the sea, of course. This is where we first met, actually..." His mom smiled at the thought. "You have your father's eyes, you know. Oh, Percy, he would have been so proud of you." Percy blinked. _Proud of me?_ The idea was laughable. Percy actually snorted at the thought.

"You know, its getting cold out here." His mom said, shivering. "Why don't we go inside the cabin?"

~xXx~

Percy awoke to a loud thudding noise. He blinked sleepily, and kicked off the blankets. What was going on? He emerged into the hallway, to see his mom rubbing her eyes and staring at the door curiously.

"Who would be at the door at this hour?" His mom said. Suddenly, her face turned pale.

"Percy, why don't you juts go back to your room? I'm sure it's nothing. I'm just going to check," She said.

Percy yawned,, and went back inside. The rain was pounding on the roof. Maybe someone had gotten stuck in the thunderstorm outside and needed help. but if that was the case, then why did his mom look so frightened? Percy felt a tug in his stomach. Something was definitely off. And Percy knew what he needed to do.

He crept down the stairs quietly. He then tiptoed across the hall, careful not to step on any creaking floorboards. He ducked behind the only potted plant in the house and listened.

"What are you doing here?" He heard his mom ask.

"They're- they're after Percy. They found him. They know he's alive." Percy recoiled at the sound of the voice speaking.

"GROVER?!" Percy exclaimed, the words bursting from his lips. His mom and Grover turned to look at Percy.

"Percy, you were hiding behind the plant?!" His mom said, staring at him.

"Uh, yeah," Percy said awkwardly. "But why are people after me? Why should it matter if I'm alive or not? AND WHY IS GROVER, my BEST friend, telling you all this?"

"Percy," Grover said, his soaking clothes creating puddles under him. "Your father - he's a geneticist, right? He worked with a team of people, who were also geneticists. He- he altered some of his genes. It gave him abilities to do things normal humans couldn't do. Everyone in the team altered some of their genes. However, they shut down the project - called Project Olympus - because some people wanted to take advantage of it. They wanted to create a superhuman army, to take over. It would be like World War III or something. But anyways, they shut down the project. But when you were born... you inherited some of the abilities your father got. And these people want to have these powers too. These are the same people who wanted to take advantage of Project Olympus. That's why they are after you."

"So, what are we going to do now?" Percy asked.

"Percy," His mom looked at him sadly, as if they were saying good-bye. "We're going to The Institute."

* * *

 **So yeah... things just got interesting!**

 **I LOVE LEAVING PEOPLE ON CLIFFHANGERS! MWHAHAHAHAHA!**

 **I'm sorry I have't updated in a long time (To be fair, this chapter is longer than the normal amount of words I write. Also, I think my math teacher is secretly the devil and loves to gives us piles of math HW to do.)**

 **I'm sorry it took this long to get to the action part, but a lot of the stuff in this chapter was necessary. I tried to cut out a lot of the boring parts. I was also unable to include the Fates (AKA the Kindly Ones) because, you know, this is sci-fi or whatever, and destiny doesn't really mix with science.**

 **Also, if you couldn't tell, The Institute is the equivalent to Camp Half-Blood!**

 **So, till next time... PEACE OUT!**


	5. Chapter 4

**Disclaimer: I don't own PJO (I'm not sure why I still do this)**

 **Rated 'T' because idek anymore**

* * *

So. This was his life now.

Percy couldn't believe it. He was on his way, right now, to some laboratory (or whatever) that a top-secret group of scientists, including his dad, had made for kids like him. And now, some crazy psychopaths were after him because they wanted to start World War III and take over the world.

This was definitely not on Percy's to-do list.

"But I don't understand!" Percy said for the millionth time as he closed the car door. "I don't have any powers, except for maybe the ability to annoy my teachers to death. I couldn't have inherited any of Dad's so-called 'powers'!"

"Percy, you can talk about this once you've buckled up," His mom said, buckling her own seat belt.

"Mom, we're being chased by power-hungry, bloodthirsty people bent on becoming the new overlords of the world. I doubt that strapping in is important right now."

"Percy, you have just as much of a chance of dying from a car-crash induced head injury as you do of being shot." His mom intoned. Percy grumbled, strapping his seat belt across his body.

"Grover?" His mom asked, raising an eyebrow.

"All buckled in," Grover chimed. Suddenly, a tremor shook through the ground.

"MOM, STEP ON IT!" Percy yelled. His mom turned on the car.

The car jolted to life, and started sputtering.

"C'mon, car! There MUST be a reason why Gabe loves you so much!" Percy shouted, banging the door with his fist.

Suddenly, the car was speeding, the beach passing by him in a blur. Percy felt his stomach jump up into his throat, and was glad his mom had made him wear a seatbelt first.

"So," Percy said, turning to Grover. "How are you related to Project Olympus?"

"Well," Grover said, gulping. "I was a test subject of sorts, you could say."

"A TEST SUBJECT?" Percy asked, his eyes wide. "Wait, so you have all those cool powers?"

"Not exactly," Grover replied. "I- I was used for a different sort of thing. They wanted to see if they could, uh... slow down the aging process. See if people could keep their younger features for longer."

"What?" Percy asked. "Well, the experiment didn't work, now did it?"

"Uh..." Grover said, nervously wringing his hands. "It kind of did." Percy gaped at Grover.

"How-how old are you?" Percy stammered.

"21?" Grover answered, his voce getting higher at the end, as if phrasing a question.

"YOU'RE 21!?" Percy exclaimed. "WHAT?" Grover gulped.

"Uh, yeah," Grover replied, wringing his hand nervously.

"And you just pretended to be a sixth grader?" Percy gave Grover a stare.

"Uh-huh," Grover said, looking down at the car floor.

"So, were you ever really my friend?" Percy asked suddenly his voice getting quiet. "Or was that just pretend too?"

"Percy, I AM your friend! I promise, I wasn't acting about that. I may have been assigned to watch over you, but I didn't have to become your friend. I did that on my own accord." Percy looked at Grover. His eye wasn't twitching, he wasn't redirecting his gaze or wringing his hands nervously. what Grover had said was honest and true, and just for a moment, Percy forgot that they were being chased by a bunch of psychopaths or that the guy he was talking to looked like a 12 year old but was actually 21 years old. He just knew that his friendship with Grover was strong and true. Suddenly, Percy was jolted out of his extremely mushy-sappy thoughts when a loud thud sounded and the car veered off course. Percy's body slammed against his seat belt, and was once again glad that his mom was safety-aware.

"Mom? What happened?" Percy half-shouted frantically.

"THE TREE FELL AND ALMOST CRUSHED THE CAR!" His mom yelled.

"Oh, we're going to die!" Grover wailed. Suddenly another tree was falling, and Percy's mom turned the steering wheel. The wheels screeched as they swerved into the ditch. Percy tried to call out, to shout and yell, to give a warning, but his head snapped back and hit the headrest. Spots danced before his eyes.

"Percy!? Grover?" His mom yelled out in concern.

"I'm okay!" Percy grunted.

"Same over here," Grover responded, rubbing his eyes.

"We need to get out of here," Percy's mom stated. She pulled on the car door handle. "But we're stuck."

Grover jerked on his door handle. "Oh god, you're right, Ms. Jackson!"

Percy desperate yanked on the car door. The thudding noises were getting louder. Wait- thudding? What was after them, some gigantic bear? Percy grunted as he kicked the door open.

"Over here!" Percy called out to his mom and Grover. " I got my door open!" The thudding sounds became clearer. What WAS that thing?

"Hey, where are those noises coming from?" Percy thought aloud.

"I don't know..." Grover's voice trailed off as he peered into the distance. "Um, guys? I think there is a, um, squad of professional killers after us, along with , uh, Experiment B-206, so, you know, it might be a good time to run."

"What's Experiment B-206?" Percy asked, craning his neck to see what Grover was looking at. Suddenly, a brown, wired-covered bull-like _thing_ with metal horns came into view.

"That," Grover squeaked. " is Experiment B-206."

~xXx~

Percy's life was currently pretty shitty.

But honestly, he was pretty sure that if someone was also being chased by some half-giant, half-robotic bull thing, they would think the same thing.

Percy looked over his shoulder. The bull robot was charging straight at them - and was coming pretty darn close. Its footsteps shook the ground. Percy almost fell, tripping as the vibrations made the ground quake.

"Percy!" His mom yelled.

"I'm okay!" Percy shouted, panting hard. Percy was noticing that Grover was falling behind.

 _His leg,_ Percy realized suddenly. Grover had that stupid muscle disease.

"GROVER!" Percy shouted, and tugged at his arm. "Come on!" Percy took big gulps of air as he half-pulled Grover. Percy risked a glance over his shoulder. The bull robot was dangerously close now. There was no way they would outrun this thing, especially with Grover's muscular disease.

"C'mon, Grover," he muttered. "Hold on for a few more minutes."

"FOOD," Grover moaned. Percy pulled Grover along, slowly making progress. He saw an old decrepit building, only a half mile away. It was protected by a tall stone-brick wall (with weird little holes in the bricks - what was that for?), and the only entrance Percy could spot was the giant pair of rusting gates. They looked to be about 8 feet tall. In fact, the whole place kind of looked like some creepy graveyard out of a horror movie, but Percy didn't really care. All he knew was that he had reached at the Institute.

"Hey!" Percy said excitedly. "We're almost there!"

 _Maybe we'll all make it,_ Percy thought. _Maybe we're in the clear._ Percy felt a small spark of hope ignite in his chest.

And it was immediately squashed as his mom's screams filled his ears.

~xXx~

Percy spun around, dropping Grover.

"MOM!" He screamed, not caring who heard him. His mother was being held by by a man in a white suit-thingy - it made him kind of look like a Storm trooper. However, the man's attire was the least of Percy's worries. He was more focused on the gun pointing to his mom's temple.

"Fork it over, kid," The man said, being flocked by other people who looked just like him. "And we'll let your mom go."

"Fork _what_ over?" Percy asked incredulously.

"Our informants must have been mistaken," The man said. "They said you loved your mom more than anything, and that you would give up anything for her. Obviously not. "

"I'm being honest!" Percy cried. "Please, tell me what you need! I'll give you anything! PLEASE!"

"Then return what you stole," the man said. Percy didn't understand. Stole? What did he mean? Suddenly, a memory hit Percy.

 _Now, Mr. Jackson," Mrs. Dodds said. "You have something that my master wants. Give it, and I'll let you live."_

 _"Huh?" Percy said, not understanding. Is she hallucinating? He wondered. Mrs. Dodds looked pretty old; Didn't the elderly have memory problems or something?_

 _"The serum," Mrs. Dodds hissed. "We know you stole the serum!"_

Percy blinked, unbelieving.

"You're like Mrs. Dodds!" He exclaimed.

"Mrs. Dodds?" The man asked.

"Yeah," Percy said. "My evil algebra teacher!" The Storm-Troopers (It was now Percy's official name for them) looked at each other in confusion. Was this kid kidding?

"I'm being serious!' Percy protested. "She was an old lady who kept telling me I stole some serum, and then tried to kill me with a laser gun."

"Ah, Alecto, you mean." The man holding his mom hostage nodded his head in understanding.

"Sure, whatever," Percy said. "The thing is, I didn't steal your serum. I swear!" The man shook his head slowly, as if he was... sorry?

"Kid, you might as well just drop the charades. We know you stole it, and our boss forgives nothing. However, you're lucky. He'll just ignore your little theft if you return it. Now, let's see if you'll be more willing if your mom is taken hostage. Until then, well.." The man looked toward the the bull-robot. "Minotaur, terminate Percy Achilles Jackson and Grover Ferdinand Underwood."

"The bull-robot turned its head toward Percy and Grover. Percy could see his profile being pulled up in the reflection of the robot's metal eye.

"Oh, crap," Percy muttered.

"Identification complete," the robot intoned in its monotone voice. "Termination starting in 3,2,1..."

Percy did the only logical thing someone in his shoes would do. He grabbed his half-unconscious friend and ran.

* * *

 **Hehehehe...**

 **So yeah, if haven't guessed by now, the next chapter is Percy VS. The Minotaur!**

 **Sorry about that cliffhanger (not really).**

 **I'm also sorry about not updating recently. I don't really have an excuse, but... forgive me?**

 **Please review, follow, favorite, blah blah blah.**

 **ALSO THANK YOU for everyone who followed and reviewed this story. It actually means a lot to me. I read through every one of your reviews.**

 **Also, I realized a few days ago that I have actually read and Favorited a lot of the stories that you guys (the reviewers) wrote!**

 **I should mention I am going to the Bahamas (for the first time!) the week after the next, so I'm sorry if I don't update for a long time**

 **Well, until next time... Peace out!**


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